Solo: A Star Wars Story - Review

Prequels are a tricky needle to thread. On the one hand, if audiences already know the characters’ fates it can make the story feel unnecessary. On the other, it can be satisfying to see how a character got to be who they are before we get to know them. Solo: A Star Wars Story is a mixed bag of both the good and bad a prequel can provide. At its best, the film feels like a Spaghetti western set in the Star Wars universe -- full of shootouts, train heists, double crosses, triple crosses, and quadruple crosses. At its worst, the film feels like the opening of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (where Indy gets his hat, whip, jacket, facial scar, and fear of snakes all in one long afternoon) stretched out to two and a half hours.

We open with Han (Alden Ehrenreich – CAA|Brillstein) a brash and cocky orphan currently living on the planet Corellia – a Dickensian nightmare-scape where various criminal syndicates use children as slave labor. Han longs to get off the planet and live a life of adventure with his girlfriend Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke – CAA|Emptage Hallett UK). In the opening chase sequence Qi’ra is left behind, while Han manages to escape by joining the Galactic Empire. Han hopes to become a pilot and eventually return to save Qi’ra. Three years later, Han is a member of the Empire’s infantry and not even close to his dream. But he finds his way out by 1) befriending a captured Wookie named Chewbacca and 2) hooking up with a crew of smugglers lead by Beckett (Woody Harrelson – CAA) and Val (Thandie Newton – WME|Untitled|Independent Talent Group UK). The crew runs afoul of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate led by Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany – UTA|Affirmative Entertainment|Independent Talent Group UK) and much to Han’s surprise, Qi’ra. To make peace with them Han and company agree to pull a very dangerous heist on the spice planet of Kessel. First they have to get a ship leading them to smooth operator Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover – WME|MGMT) who captains the ship known as the Millienum Falcon...    

The biggest problem Solo has is that it can’t get away from the baggage of being a modern day Star Wars film. This movie is so loaded with references and callbacks to other points in the saga that it makes the prequels seem reserved by comparison. Did you want to know the story of how Han got the last name Solo? If moments like Obi Wan saying, “You’ll be the death of me,” to Anakin in Attack of the Clones annoyed you, buckle up because this film is FULL of stuff like that. There’s also a cameo by a character that is one of the single worst moments of fan service sequel bait I’ve ever seen in a major blockbuster! I don’t necessarily mind sequel bait, and I don’t mind this character’s inclusion – the problem is that he alludes to a story that would’ve been far more interesting than what is served up here.

However, when Solo tries to be its own thing, divorced from the larger Star Wars machine, the film works. The train heist the crew pulls off early on is a really cool sequence, which feels different from the type of action scenes we usually see in Star Wars. When Han successfully navigates the Kessel run, it’s a blast. But those moments are few and far between, and this is partially because the script, written by father and son duo Lawrence Kasdan (WME) and Jonathan Kasdan (CAA) can’t seem to focus on what emotional story it wants to tell. Is it about how a wide-eyed kid becomes a rough and tumble gangster? That’d be fine if characters didn’t keep telling Han that he was a good person and a hero. Is it about Han getting back to the love of his life? Kind of? But that emotional story isn’t played out through the whole movie. I know it’s wrong in a review to say what the filmmakers should have done – but why isn’t the emotional core of this movie about the friendship between Han and Chewie?!?! As the film concludes, I’m not entirely sure why these two become lifelong friends.

None of Solo’s problems, however, are due to the cast. There was a lot of handwringing when Ehrenreich was cast as Han Solo. Fans wondered if he could fill Harrison Ford’s iconic shoes. I’m pleased to report that he completely carries the film. He has charm and charisma and doesn’t even try to do a Harrison Ford impression. He nails the swagger of the character, and you can see how he’ll eventually become the Han Solo we know and love. Donald Glover’s breezy, sleazy, and suave Lando nearly walks away with the movie; he and Ehrenreich are fun together and I want to see more of them. Emilia Clarke is fun, but her part is confusingly written. While Harrelson gives a textured world-weary performance. The characters and cast are great; I just wish they were served by a better story.

And that brings us to the elephant in the room. Solo’s original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (UTA) were very publically removed from the film for “creative differences” and replaced with Ron Howard (CAA). Various reports have stated that the final version of the film is 70% Howard (Lord and Miller are credited as executive producers here). It’s hard to talk around this, but the film doesn’t feel confused and scattershot in its directing. Howard’s work here brings his usual professionalism to the Star Wars universe, but he adds a darker quality, leaning into the visual aesthetic of a Spaghetti western, and in some moments noir.

So, Solo is a mixed bag, which feels par for course for these Disney Star Wars films. I liked 2015’s The Force Awakens and thought it was a good re-introduction to the galaxy– but I could have done without the repetition of story points from the original Star Wars. On the other hand, 2016’s Rogue One, I found to be a fairly lifeless experience and it felt like watching someone play a very good-looking video game. I unapologetically loved last year’s The Last Jedi and I think it’s one of the better Star Wars films (don’t @ me).

Like it or not, we’re going to get a new Star Wars a year until the Earth is consumed by the sun. I want Disney to let these things be their own kind of stories. You can see the good in Solo: A Star Wars Story, but the stuff that doesn’t work, REALLY doesn’t work which makes it a very frustrating experience.

Two out of four stars.